More shoppers turn to the Web

Busiest sales day will likely come during this week

December 12, 2006|By Danny King And Lisa Rapaport Bloomberg News

U.S. consumers' Internet spending for the holidays rose 25 percent from a year earlier as more people turned to the Web and stepped up spending with the approach of the busiest selling days of the year.

Online sales for the 38 days through Dec. 8 increased to $15.6 billion, Reston, Va.-based research company ComScore Networks Inc. said Sunday. Internet spending is rising faster than ComScore's estimate of 24 percent growth for November and December as consumers buy video games and consumer electronics in the weeks leading to Christmas.

Sales over the Web rose more rapidly than those of traditional retailers as faster Internet connections made it easier to shop at home. The last two months of the year account for 24 percent of annual online sales, led by Amazon.com Inc. The busiest day of the year may be this week, ComScore said.

"Shoppers are savvy and realize that in some cases they can be rewarded for waiting," Dan Popowics, an analyst with Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Asset Management, said last week. "The calendar needs to turn over a few more days before the season heats up a bit."

Amazon.com was followed by the Web sites of Dell Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. Amazon's shares, which have risen 15 percent since the company reported third-quarter earnings Oct. 24, increased 23 cents to $38.69 at 4:01 p.m. on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Dell added 41 cents to $26.73, and Yahoo gained 15 cents to $26.49.

Sales may approach $700 million one day this week, ComScore said. Last year, the biggest online consumer spending day was Dec. 12, with $556 million spent.

"Online consumer spending growth continues to beat expectations," ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in the statement. The number of people shopping on the Web increased 17 percent, and the average buyer spent 7 percent more this year, ComScore said.

FOR THE RECORD - CORRECTION PUBLISHED THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2006.A Bloomberg News article on Page 3D of Tuesday's Business section about U.S. consumers' Internet spending incorrectly reported the one-day sales record for retail Web sites. The record, set on Dec. 4, is $647million.

On Dec. 4, U.S. consumers spent a one-day record $647 billion on retail Web sites, eclipsing the corresponding day a year earlier by 26 percent, ComScore said last week.

Internet spending from home climbed 30 percent in November, while buying from work increased 19 percent, ComScore said.

Total U.S. retail sales rose 4.8 percent in November, the least since June, after poor weather throughout the country discouraged shoppers from visiting stores, Chicago-based ShopperTrak RCT said last week.